RNAO’s Nursing Best Practice Guidelines implemented across Spain

TORONTO – Jan. 31, 2012 – Representatives from Ontario’s top professional nursing organization are in Spain to celebrate the launch of eight Best Practice Spotlight Organizations (BPSO) that are committed to implementing clinical best practices of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).

During their week-long visit (Feb 1-7), Doris Grinspun, RNAO’s executive director and Irmajean Bajnok, director of the association’s best practice guidelines (BPG) program will train nurses on how to implement its BPGs and how to pass that knowledge on to other nurses and health-care professionals. This program will continue with the monitoring and support of the Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit and Spanish Collaborating Centre of the Joanna Briggs Institute.

The visit will also highlight the central role nursing plays in the health and well-being of patients, and how clinical BPGs improve patient outcomes and make health-care systems more effective and efficient.

RNAO’s clinical BPG program began in 1999 and was expanded in 2003 to include healthy work environment BPGs. To date, 44 guidelines have been developed, including some focused on health promotion such as breastfeeding and reducing falls in older persons and on disease prevention such as smoking cessation. There are guidelines that cover the treatment of pressure ulcers and ones geared to chronic disease management for diabetes and pain.

The Spanish project arises from the signed agreement between RNAO and the Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit (Investén-isciii) of the Institute of Health Carlos III. The partnership started with the translation of RNAO’s BPGs into Spanish. The initiative means up to half a billion people who live in Spanish-speaking countries can access RNAO’s best practices.

“The substantive and positive results of these guidelines on clinical and health outcomes of patients speak for themselves and that’s why the Ontario government and Health Canada support this program,” says Grinspun, adding that governments and health-care organizations all over the world, including China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Colombia, Italy, Dubai and Spain are working with RNAO to implement the association’s best practices.

Grinspun, a native of Chile and fluent in Spanish, and Teresa Moreno Casbas, director of Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit (Investén-isciii), are thrilled with the partnership. The Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit of the Institute of Health Carlos III, as part of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, has overseen the translation of the BPGs into Spanish. “This partnership will enrich the nursing profession and hugely benefit patients,” says Grinspun. Moreno Casbas says “the nurses will have access to evidence resources that support their practice and optimize patient outcomes.”

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses’ contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.

RNAO’s ambitious Best Practice Guidelines Program in Canada is funded by the Ontario government’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. It was launched in 1999, under Grinspun’s leadership, to provide the best available evidence for patient care across a wide spectrum of health-care areas. The 44 guidelines developed to date represent the excellence that is shaping and improving Ontario’s health-care system. The BPGs are available free of charge to nurses, other health-care professionals and organizations across Canada and abroad.

To learn more about RNAO’s Nursing Best Practice Guidelines Program, please visit http://rnao.ca/bpg[2].